We celebrated our freedom this Memorial Day by searching for marine mammals that were also experiencing their freedom!
We were blessed with blue skies and glassy waters as we departed Rouche Harbor on our tour via the Sea Hawk. We left port in hopes of orcas but we ended up heading south towards Haro Straight in attempts to find a reported humpback whale. However, when we arrived on scene we discovered a beautiful and uncataloged humpback whale, a far more exciting sighting than we could have hoped for!
Scientists are able to catalog humpback whales by their unique white markings on the underside of their fluke (aka tail). All previously spotted and photographed humpbacks are placed in a catalog that is shared throughout the whale watching community. Therefore, an uncataloged whale indicates that this is the first summer season that he or she has travelled to the Salish Sea!
After experiencing this new humpback whale, we continued our journey to Henry Island where we got some great looks at bald eagles and several of pelagic cormorants that were vibrantly displaying breeding plumages.
By the end of the tour we were all feeling grateful that we had the opportunity to experience wild animals in their natural environment.
Humpback whale tail fluke. Photo by Kevin Culmback.